Bear Sightings and Attacks in Japan Jump to Record Highs

A Sharp Increase

The number of Asian black bear sightings across Japan rose to 50,776 in fiscal 2025, according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of the Environment. This was a sharp increase of 150% from 20,513 in 2024 and marked the highest number since sightings were first recorded in 2009. It is believed this rise is due to poor crops of acorns and other food sources that the bears depend on.

The top five prefectures for sightings are shown below, mainly concentrated in the Tōhoku region. Asian black bears are only found on Japan’s main island of Honshū and Shikoku.

• Akita: 13,592 sightings
• Iwate: 9,739 sightings
• Miyagi: 3,559 sightings
• Niigata: 3,528 sightings
• Aomori: 3,334 sightings

There were 216 reported bear attacks in fiscal 2025. A total of 238 people were injured, including 13 fatalities, with both these figures the highest on record. In the start of the new fiscal year in April, the body of a woman, presumed to have been attacked by a bear, was discovered in the mountains of Shiwa, Iwate Prefecture. Then in May, bodies were found in Hachimantai, Iwate, and Sakata, Yamagata, in cases where people seem to have been attacked by bears that were foraging for wild vegetables.

Data Sources

• Data on bear sightings (preliminary figures) and attacks (preliminary figures) (Japanese) from the Ministry of the Environment

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: An Asian black bear sighted in Iida, Nagano Prefecture, in April 2025. © Jiji.)